Professor Narinder Mehra is the Honorary Emeritus Scientist of ICMR and Former Dean (Res) and National Chair of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. After finishing his graduation from the Govt Medical College, Amritsar, he Joined AIIMS in 1969 to do Masters in Anatomy and then PhD. He joined the AIIMS Faculty in 1979, rose to become Sr Professor and then the Dean.
He is an internationally acclaimed expert in the area of Transplant Immunology and Clinical Immunogenetics, for which his singular efforts culminated in establishing this specialty for the first time in India, thus facilitating solid organ and hematopoietic stem cell transplants in the country. His research focus has been on defining biomarkers of disease susceptibility in infectious and autoimmune diseases, influence of HLA matching and alloantibodies on transplant injury, stem cell biology and regenerative medicine among others. He played an important role in preparing National guidelines for stem cell research in India.
Prof Mehra has been the President of the Indian Immunology Society, councilor for the International Union of Immunological Societies, and founder Secretary-General of the Federation of Immunological Societies of Asia-Oceania. He is a Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy (FNA), National Academy of Sciences (FAMS), National Academy of Medical Sciences (FNASc), Member Honoris Causa of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and ‘Fellow’ of The World Academy of Sciences (FTWAS). He served as chief Editor of ‘Frontiers in Immunology’ special issue on ‘Clinical relevance of antibodies in solid organ transplantation’.
Professor Mehra has nearly 100 awards and academic honors to his credit. Some of the significant ones include S.S. Bhatnagar Award of the CSIR, Ranbaxy Science Foundation Award, O.P. Bhasin Science Foundation Award, Chief of the Army Staff Award, Tata Innovation Fellowship and Dr B.R. Ambedkar award of ICMR for excellence in Medical Research. In 2003, the French President, conferred on him the title of ‘Chevalier of the National Order of Merit’. He received the Khwarizmi International Award from the Iranian Research Organization on Science and Technology. He was a member of the international jury for the Else Kroner Fresenius International Award in Immunology.
He has published more than 480 original research papers in leading international journals. His book ‘The HLA System in Medicine and Biology’ received high international acclaim. He has trained several young minds in the area of clinical Immunogenetics and Transplant Immunology.